Hundreds of dinosaur footprints discovered in Beijing

Paleontologists said they have discovered several hundred fossilized dinosaur footprints at a geological park in Yanqing County, a suburb of Beijing, China, according to Xinhua.

Paleontologist Zhang Jianping of the China University of Geosciences said these were the first dinosaur footprints ever found in the city. According to Zhang, the footprints belonged to a dinosaur that lived 140-150 million years ago, during the Jurassic period.

[Discovered dinosaur footprints 105 million years ago]

A team of scientists from the China University of Geosciences first discovered the footprints in July 2011 at Guihuamu Geological Park, famous as a center for ancient fossils.

In one area where most of the footprints converged, paleontologists counted several hundred footprints as well as 7-8 rows formed from consecutive footprints.

A dinosaur footprint was found.
Illustration photo. (Source: Foxnews)

These footprints are thought to have been made by thyreomorphs, theropods (large meat-eating dinosaurs), ornithopods (bird-footed dinosaurs), and possibly sauropods (lizards).

Mr. Zhang affirmed that the discovery will enrich China's fossil dinosaur samples from the late Jurassic and early Cretaceous periods.

"This is the first time China has discovered footprints of thyreopods, theropods, ornithopods and possibly sauropods from that period, which helps us better understand how these species moved through China," he said./.

According to Vietnam+